Two small businesses in Chapel Hill and Carrboro marked big steps in recent days to welcoming more visitors.

On Wednesday, Aug. 27, a cocktail bar called Little Gem welcomed its first evening customers for normal business hours. It is the newest project from Paul Finn, who is the beverage director for Beau Catering in the Cedar Falls Courtyard development alongside Little Gem. The bar at 630 Weaver Dairy Road describes itself as a neighborhood lounge, serving a mix of original cocktails with “remixes” and “covers” of classics with small plates courtesy of the catering business. It echoes the prior tenant of the space: the Piggyback bar, which was a sister venture to The Pig next door.

Finn held mixology classes during the late summer to introduce patrons to the space and teach bartending skills, which will be a monthly feature of Little Gem. The bar will be open Wednesdays through Saturdays, with Wednesday-Thursday hours running from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. and Friday-Saturday hours running from 5 p.m. to midnight.

Photo via Little Gem’s Facebook page.

A few days later in Carrboro, a bakery launched its dine-in and coffee shop operations after a year-and-a-half of preparation. Even Dough Bakery at 203 West Weaver Street opened its café on Tuesday, Sep. 2 for the first time with regular business hours. It scales up the effort started five years ago by Meital Cohen in her Chapel Hill house and aims to bring more foot traffic to the space previously home to Mosaic Tapas Bistro & Wine Bar. The business also hosted several pop-up bake sales and cooking classes since Cohen moved Even Dough into the space last year to help prepare for welcoming customers on a daily basis.

Even Dough is continuing its catering and bulk orders, with many of the favorites making their way to the café display alongside creative coffeehouse offerings. A mix of croissants, tarts, loafs, brownies and more are available — and in the opening week, patrons can grab a free coffee with every pastry purchase.

Even Dough Bakery is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The business encourage customers to utilize parking spaces behind the building, along with the nearby public parking provided by the Town of Carrboro.

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